SPORTS

GIRLS BASKETBALL

C-FC holds off Onalaska Luther, B3

CONTACT: Sports Editor John Casper Jr. | 507.453.3528 | sports@winonadailynews.com

Saturday, February 27, 2016

MSHSL AND WIAA STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENTS

Tekautz keeps his season alive

Pomeroy loses twice
in first state trip
Daily News staff

ST. PAUL McCoy

Tekautz got a late start to
his wrestling season.
But the junior on the
Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson co-operative
team is doing what he can
to extend it as long as posJOE BROWN, RED WING REPUBLICAN EAGLE
sible.
L-A/R-Ps McCoy Tekautz tries to stay upright against
Tekautz, who didnt
Milaca/Faith Christians Dru Kuchenbaker during their
wrestle until late JanuClass AA 152-pound first-round match at the state wrestling ary while recovering from
tournament Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
offseason knee surgery,

AT A GLANCE
SAINTS IN SEMIFINALS: Mark Buringa (113
pounds) and Lane Heim (145) are in the MSHSL
Class A semifinals, to be wrestled this morning.
FIGHTING FOR THIRD: The best L-A/R-Ps McCoy Tekautz
and C-FCs Tate Murty can hope for is a third-place finish
in their respective state meets after losing Friday.
stayed alive in the consolation portion of the Class
AA 152-pound bracket at
the MSHSL state individual
wrestling tournament Friday at Xcel Energy Center
in St. Paul. Tekautz (10-3),
at state for the second time,
earned a 12-5 decision win

over Jake Leicht (34-10) of

Bloomington Kennedy.
Tekautz lost by technical fall to Milacas Dru
Kuchenbaker (34-1) in the
first round, then had to
wait to make sure Kuchenba c ke r wo n h i s m a tc h
against Leicht to see if his

WSU WOMENS BASKETBALL

Practice makes perfect

Extra time in the gym
paying off for sharpshooting Nagle
JOHN CASPER JR.
john.casper@lee.net

Connor Nagles official field of

study, the one that will be listed
on her diploma after she graduates from Winona State University in May, is movement science.
But unofficially, at least for her
final semester, the point guard
on the eighth-ranked womens
basketball team is taking a course
load heavy in hoops.
Shes a full-time basketball
player, WSU coach Scott Ballard
joked. Part-time student, fulltime basketball player.
An explanation seems to be
in order here. Nagle, a fifth-year
senior, has most of her graduation
requirements settled and is taking
the lowest number of credits that
will keep her eligible per Division
II standards in her final semester.
She has class only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which leaves
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays free.
I wake up, have breakfast and
go to the gym for a couple hours
before practice and lifting, Nagle
said. I feel like I spend all my
time shooting.
The extra practice has paid
off. Its hard to be more prolific
than Nagle, who has made 100
3-pointers this season three
away from the WSU singleseason record. Nagle will look to
break Becca Friestlebens mark
when the Warriors (28-2) play
Concordia-St. Paul (14-15) at 5:30
p.m. Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A lot of it is mental, Nagle
said of the advantages of her extra
practice. At the beginning of the
year, Id miss two or three in a row
and Id say to myself Im done
shooting, Im done shooting. But
going in and working on my own,
Ill miss three or four in a row, and
Ill get over it.
Going on my own so much
has helped me just move onto
the next shot. Because in some
games, Ill miss a few, then Ill
get hot after that. Whereas in
the past, I dont think Id have
enough confidence to continue
shooting.
Eleven times this season, Nagle
has attempted five 3-pointers or
less. Ten of those games came
before the second semester
started.
Nagles unwavering confidence

season would continue.

Kuchenbacker squeaked
out a 12-11 decision, giving
Tekautz a shot at a wrestleback.
Hell face Ty Moser (3211) of Perham, who ended
the season of Winonas
lone state qualifier junior
Chase Pomeroy.
P o m e roy, w h o b e a t
Tekautz in overtime in the
Section 1AA finals, nearly
had a rematch with his area
rival but couldnt get a late
takedown to extend his
match with Moser.
See TEKAUTZ, B3

WSHS SWIMMING

Wolner
brothers
heading
to state
Prenot qualifies
in diving
Daily News staff

MATTHEW SECKORA, DAILY NEWS

Winona States Connor Nagle (23) shoots from beyond the arc during a NSIC game against Minnesota Duluth on
Feb. 6 at McCown Gymnasium. Nagle has made 100 3-pointers this season and is shooting them at a 44.8-percent clip.
has led to some big shooting
nights even if that meant missing a few here and there. It helped
her win three straight NSICSouth player of the week awards
to close the season, and a string of
six games where she made at least
six 3-pointers a game.
See NAGLE, B3

THE CONNOR NAGLE FILE

first-team all-conference.
Averages 12.7 ppg. Made 100
POSITION: 5-foot-6 point guard
3-pointers, three shy of WSU
FROM: Preston, Minn.
single-season record. Fourth
HIGH SCHOOL: Fillmore Central all-time with 204 3s. Making 44.8
percent of 3-point attempts.
NOTES: Recently named
Averages 3.5 assists per game.
YEAR: Fifth-year senior

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS,

Minn. Griffin Wolner is going
back to the MSHSL state meet,
and this time his younger brother
is coming along, too.
And while the Winona Senior
High School swimming and diving team hoped it would be sending more to next weekends state
meet, the future certainly looks
bright for the program after its
fourth-place team finish at the
Section 1A meet Friday night at
Simley High School.
Its just remarkable, coach
Chris Mayer said. We have such
a young team. All of the individuals we had come back Friday are
juniors or younger, and most are
sophomores and eighth graders.
Finishing fourth, Im just over the
moon about that. Just so happy.
Griffin Wolner, a sophomore
who competed at the state meet
as an individual and with a relay
last year, qualified in both the
200- and 500-yard freestyle.
He pushed Simley senior
Michael Modica in the 200 freestyle, finishing second in 1:46.34.
In Class A, the top three finishers
plus those who meet the qualifying standard advance. Wolner did
both in the 200.
In the 500 freestyle, Wolner
won with a time of 4:54.34.
Were really happy for him,
Mayer said. This is another good
stepping stone for him.
He was hoping to add a trip to
state with the 200 freestyle relay,
and despite swimming a personal
record split of 22.04 seconds, he
came up just short. The relay,
which includes eighth-grader
See WOLNER, B3

MSHSL STATE MEET

WHEN: Thursday-Saturday
WHERE: U of M Aquatic
Center, Minneapolis
WINONA QUALIFIERS: Derrick
Prenot, diving; Griffin Wolner,
200 and 500 freestyle; Grant
Wolner, 200 individual medley.

WSU MENS BASKETBALL

When Gray plays well, so do the Warriors

WSU is 6-0 when
junior scores at
least 13 points
JOHN CASPER JR.
john.casper@lee.net

When Isaiah Gray has a big

night, the Winona State University mens basketball team wins.
The problem both for the
Warriors and for Gray however,
is that it doesnt happen all that
often.
The junior point guard hasnt
been the same consistent scorer
he was during his all-conference
sophomore season. But hes
shown flashes of greatness, such
as the 21 points and six rebounds

TODAYS GAME
RADIO: KQAL-FM 89.5
PLAYER TO WATCH: NSUs Skye
Warwick hit four second-half
3-pointers and fueled a 20-2 run in
a 68-64 victory Jan. 2 in Winona.

WHO: Winona State (15-12)

vs. Northern State (18-11)
WHEN, WHERE: 8p.m.
at the Sanford Pentagon,
Sioux Falls, S.D.

he recorded in Wednesdays victory over Minot State that earned

Winona State (15-12) a spot in
todays NSIC Tournament quarterfinals against Northern State
(18-11). The game tips at 8p.m.
at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux
Falls, S.D.
The Warriors have had a problem all season finding guys who
can finish near the rim, or at least
get to the free-throw line. Gray
can do both. Hes among the team

leaders in field-goal percentage

at 47.5 percent a number that
rises to 51.1 percent on 2-point
attempts and leads the team
in both free-throw attempts (66)
and makes (48).
Hes a guy who can break the
defense down, WSU first-year
coach Todd Eisner said. But
when hes losing the ball, he
causes his own problems for us.
See WSU, B3

MATTHEW SECKORA, DAILY NEWS

Concordia-St. Pauls Bryndan Matthews (23) and Shea Mandli (34) try to
block Winona States Isaiah Gray during a game at McCown Gymnasium

B2 Saturday, February 27, 2016winonadailynews.com

SCOREBOARD

WHATS ON TAP
HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS BASKETBALL: DairylandCrossover games at Eleva-Strum.
MSHSL sections1AA, 1AA and 1A East at Mayo Civic Center, see scoreboard.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: WIAA regionalsDivision 3: Bloomer at G-E-T,
7p.m.; Division 4: Brookwood at C-FC, 7p.m.
ON TV
AUTO RACING: NASCAR, Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1, 7:30 a.m.;
Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1, 9a.m.; Sprint Cup Series
practice, FS1, 10:30 a.m.; Xfinity Series, Heads Up Georgia 250, FS1, 12:30
p.m.; World Truck Series, Georgia 200, FS1, 3:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Butler at Georgetown, CBS, 11a.m.; Lehigh
at Army, CBSSN, 11a.m.; Texas Tech at Kansas, ESPN, 11a.m.; Rhode
Island at Dayton, ESPN2, 11a.m.; Cincinnati at East Carolina, ESPNU,
11a.m.; UCF at Temple, ESPNEWS, 11a.m.; W. Kentucky at UAB, FSN,
11a.m.; Mississippi at Georgia, SEC, 11a.m.; VCU at George Washington,
NBCSN, 11:30 a.m.; Oklahoma at Texas, CBS, 1p.m.; N. Iowa at Evansville,
CBSSN, 1a.m.; Arizona at Utah, ESPN, 1p.m.; Illinois St. at Wichita St.,
ESPN2, 1p.m.; Rutgers at Northwestern, ESPNU, 1p.m.; Villanova at Marquette, FOX, 1p.m.; William & Mary at James Madison, NBCSN, 1:30 p.m.;
South Carolina at Mississippi St., SEC, 1:30 p.m.; Kentucky at Vanderbilt,
CBS, 3p.m.; DePaul at Providence, CBSSN, 3p.m.; Maryland at Purdue,
ESPN, 3p.m.; Notre Dame at Florida St., ESPN2, 3p.m.; Texas A&M at
Missouri, ESPNU, 3p.m.; UCLA at Stanford, FOX, 3:30 p.m.; Auburn at Alabama, SEC, 4p.m.; Boise St. at San Diego St., CBSSN, 5p.m.; Kansas St.
at Iowa St., ESPN2, 5p.m.; West Virginia at Oklahoma St., ESPNU, 5p.m.;
North Carolina at Virginia, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.; Arkansas at Tennessee, SEC,
6:30 p.m.; Gonzaga at BYU, ESPN2, 7p.m.; Baylor at TCU, ESPNU, 7p.m.;
Florida at LSU, ESPN, 7:30 p.m.; Fresno St. at New Mexico, ESPN2, 9p.m.;
UC Irvine at UC Davis, ESPN2, 11p.m.
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Boston University at Notre Dame, NBCSN, 6p.m.
NBA: Golden State at Oklahoma City, ABC, 7:30 p.m.
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Ohio State at Michigan State,
BTN, 1p.m.; Iowa State at Oklahoma, FSN, 2p.m.; Penn State at Indiana,
BTN, 3p.m.; Baylor at Kansas State, FS2, 3:30 p.m.; Illinois at Iowa, BTN,
5p.m.
ON RADIO
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL: Rushford-Peterson vs. Spring Grove,
KWNO-FM 99.3, 2p.m.; Winona vs. Red Wing, KWNO-AM 1230, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL: Brookwood at Cochrane-Fountain City,
KWNO-FM 99.3, 7p.m.

BRIEFLY

HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS BASKETBALL

MSHSL PLAYOFFS
SECTION 1AAA
Todays Semifinals
At Mayo Arena, Rochester
Red Wing (25-2) vs. Winona (12-15), 6:30 p.m.
Northfield (18-9) vs. Austin (22-5), 8:15p.m.
SECTION 1AA
Todays Semifinals
At Mayo Auditorium, Rochester
Caledonia (26-2) vs. Cannon Falls (17-11), 5p.m.
St. Charles (26-2) vs. Lake City (24-3), 8p.m.
SECTION 1A EAST
Todays Final
At Mayo Auditorium, Rochester
Spring Grove (27-1) vs. Rushford-Peterson (20-8),
2p.m.
Thursdays Section Final
At Mayo Arena, Rochester
1A East winner vs. 1A West winner, 6p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

BIG NINE
WINONA 55, AUSTIN 44
Winona 30 25 55
Austin 18 26 44
WINONA (20-6, 16-6): Danneka Voegeli 13, Hallee
Hoeppner 12, Eden Nibbelink 10, Jayne Emerson 8,
Maria Appicelli 8, Abby Winter 4.
AUSTIN (14-12, 12-10): Shayley Vesell 14, Ashley
Hawkshead 8, Ruth Koang 6, Awenia Nywesh 6, Kelsey
Sederquest 5, Amber Hansen 4, Rebecca Younis 1.
WIAA REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
DIVISION 3
G-E-T 47, ARCADIA 33
Arcadia 13 20 33
G-E-T 28 19 47
ARCADIA (8-16): Annika Anderson 9, Abbey
Zastrow 8, Dana Haines 5, Tracy Kotlarz 4, Cassie Berg
3, Mariah Haines 2, Kirsten Sendelbach 2.
G-E-T (19-4): 17 Lexi Wagner 17, 10 Madison Doerr
10, 7 Bailey Schmidt 7 , 6 Macy Williams 6 , 3 Madison
Schmidt 3 , 2 Sarah Beirne 2 , 2 Olivia Zielke 2.
DIVISION 4
C-FC 61, ONALASKA LUTHER 56
Onalaska Luther 18 38 56
C-FC
26 35 61
ONALASKA LUTHER (9-15): Erin Svendsen 4,
Cassie Bell 4, Kaitlyn Kennedy 18, Emily Stadler 3,
Nikki Kilmer 2, Clare Schultz 7, Alexa Kasten 16, Anna
Hennemelnan 2.
C-FC (23-0): Lexi Schmidtknecht 7, Makenna Gabel
11, Rylee Gabel 6, Karen Scharlau 15, Melani Skroch 2,
Kerrigan Lyga 18, Isabelle Ostrem 2.

BOWLING
WESTGATE

From wire reports

FIFA

Soccers world body elects new president

ZURICH Gianni Infantino is the new president
of soccers corruption-scarred world governing body,
winning election after promising national leaders of
the sport that he would share the wealth from FIFAs
$5 billion World Cup revenues.
Infantino was chosen on the second-ballot Friday
to fill the unexpired term of longtime FIFA leader
Sepp Blatter, who was forced out by the pressure of
U.S. and Swiss investigations of bribery and corruption that emerged two days before the previous vote
in May 2015.
The stunning outcome seemed to catch the
45-year-old Infantino off-guard. He had to compose
himself before starting his acceptance speech and
saluted voters by patting his heart with his right hand.
We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect
of FIFA. And everyone in the world will applaud us,
said Infantino, who only became a candidate when a
case of financial wrongdoing removed his own boss,
Michel Platini, at Europes soccer body UEFA.
I am convinced a new era is starting, said the
Swiss-born former lawyer. Blatter headed FIFA for
more than 17 years.

GOLF

Fowler takes lead at Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. Rickie Fowler
isnt setting any course records at the Honda Classic.
Hell gladly settle for more great golf, and the 36-hole
lead.
Fowler got back to work last week in Florida after
his big disappointment in the Phoenix Open and shot
the course record at The Medalist (66). The next day,
he went an hour north to The Floridian and shot 60 to
break the course record held by Justin Thomas.
He set a more obscure record Friday with his
4-under 66 to build a one-shot lead over Jimmy
Walker. Fowler became the first player to go bogeyfree over the opening 36 holes in the Honda Classic
since it moved to PGA National in 2007.
In his first start since Fowler lost a two-shot lead
with two holes in Phoenix, he put himself right back
in position to win.
Fowler was at 8-under 132, one shot ahead of
Jimmy Walker, who finished his round of 66 with a
25-foot birdie on the 17th and a 40-foot eagle putt on
No. 18. Sergio Garcia, playing with Fowler, stayed with
him until the final four holes. Garcia had a 69 and was
two shots behind.

MLB

Clevelands Almonte fails test, suspended

GOODYEAR, Ariz. With injured All-Star Michael
Brantley likely out for the first portion of the season,
the Cleveland Indians spent plenty of time this offseason looking for ways to fill the large hole hell leave
in the outfield.
That search became more difficult Friday when
Abraham Almonte was suspended for 80 games by
Major League Baseball after testing positive for the
performance-enhancing drug Boldenone.
Indians general manager Mike Chernoff and manager Terry Francona had high expectations this season
for the 26-year-old outfielder.
Its extremely disappointing. Abe has accepted
responsibility for the test results as he talked with me
and Tito, Chernoff said. We were hoping that he
would be a large contributor for our major league team
this year and for the first 80 games, he cant do that.
The Indians released a statement as well, in which
the team supported MLBs stance on steroids and
other performance-enhancing drugs.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UT offers 20 scholarships
to same high school
Days before Michigan starts spring practice in
Florida at IMG Academy, Tennessee offered scholarships to 20 football players from the boarding school.
IMG football coach Kevin Wright posted on Twitter
that the Volunteers made an unprecedented move
on Friday. Scholarship offers are non-binding along
with oral commitments recruits make to schools.
Wright listed the 20 players in his tweet. Thirteen
are in the class of 2017, including Josh Kaindoh, a
defensive lineman considered one of the best recruits
in the country. Six are juniors and one, offensive lineman EJ Ndoma Ogar, is in the class of 2019.
IMGs campus is in Bradenton, Florida, but it
draws top players for all over the country and plays a
national schedule.

ACTION CLASSIC LEAGUE

Teams: Coldwell Banker 3,430; Bowlers Handyman
(1,220).
Individuals: Mike Ellefson 742, Hugh Polus 702,
Seth Bonow 696 (276), Josh Wenzel 695, Mitch Pasche
685, John Glowczewski 676, Dave Hultgren 670, Steve
Brown 667, Mark Walters 666, Rod Storm 657, Jason
Hubbard 654, Brandon Verbout 653.

BASKETBALL
NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic W L Pct GB
Toronto
39 18 .684
Boston
34 25 .576 6
New York
25
35
.417
15
Brooklyn 16 42 .276 23
Philadelphia 8 50 .138 31
Southeast W L Pct GB
Miami
32 25 .561
Atlanta
32 27 .542 1
Charlotte 30 27 .526 2
Washington 27 30 .474 5
Orlando 25 32 .439 7
Central W L Pct GB
Cleveland 41 16 .719
Indiana
31 27 .534 10
Chicago 30 27 .526 11
Detroit
29 29 .500 12
Milwaukee 24 34 .414 17
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest W L Pct GB
San Antonio
49
9
.845

Memphis
33 23 .589 15
Dallas
31 28 .525 18
Houston
29 29 .500 20
New Orleans
23
34
.404
25
Northwest W L Pct GB
Oklahoma City
41
17
.707

Portland
30 28 .517 11
Utah
28 29 .491 12
Denver
23 36 .390 18
Minnesota 18 40 .310 23
Pacific
W L Pct GB
Golden State
52
5
.912

L.A. Clippers
38
20
.655
14
Sacramento 24 33 .421 28
Phoenix
14 44 .241 38
L.A. Lakers
11
48
.186
42
Fridays games
Charlotte 96, Indiana 95
Washington 103, Philadelphia 94
Toronto 99, Cleveland 97
New York 108, Orlando 95
Atlanta 103, Chicago 88
Dallas 122, Denver 116, OT
L.A. Clippers 117, Sacramento 107
Memphis at L.A. Lakers, late
Todays games
Miami at Boston, 2p.m.
Minnesota at New Orleans, 6p.m.
Portland at Chicago, 7p.m.
San Antonio at Houston, 7p.m.
Detroit at Milwaukee, 7:30p.m.
Golden State at Oklahoma City, 7:30p.m.
Brooklyn at Utah, 8:30p.m.
Memphis at Phoenix, 8:30p.m.

COLLEGE MEN

TOP 25
Fridays Games
No games scheduled
Todays Games
No. 1 Villanova at Marquette, 12:30 p.m.
No. 2 Kansas vs. Texas Tech, 11a.m.
No. 3 Oklahoma at No. 25 Texas, 1p.m.
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 7 North Carolina, 5:30 p.m.
No. 9 Arizona at Utah, 1p.m.
No. 10 Maryland at No. 20 Purdue, 3p.m.
No. 11 Louisville at No. 12 Miami, 1p.m.
No. 14 West Virginia at Oklahoma State, 5p.m.
No. 16 Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 3p.m.
No. 17 Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 5p.m.
No. 19 Baylor at TCU, 7p.m.
No. 21 Texas A&M at Missouri, 4p.m.
No. 23 Notre Dame at Florida State, 4p.m.
BIG TEN

Conf. Overall
Indiana 13-3 23-6
Maryland 11-4 23-5
Iowa
11-4 20-7
Michigan State
10-5
23-5
Wisconsin 10-5 18-10
Ohio State
10-6
18-11
Michigan 10-6 20-9
Purdue 9-6 21-7
Penn State
6-9
15-13
Nebraska 6-10 14-15
Northwestern 5-9 17-10
Illinois
4-11 12-16
Minnesota 2-13 8-19
Rutgers 0-15 6-22
Todays games
Rutgers at Northwestern, 1p.m.
Maryland at Purdue, 3p.m.
NSIC TOURNAMENT
At Sanford Health Pentagon, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Saturdays Quarterfinals
Winona State (15-12) vs. Northern State (18-11),
8p.m.
Sioux Falls (17-12) vs. Augustana (25-2), 5:30 p.m.
U-Mary (18-11) vs. Minnesota State (21-8), 2:30 p.m.
Upper Iowa (16-16) vs. MSU Moorhead (28-4), noon
Mondays Semifinals
Saturday afternoon winners, noonp.m.
Saturday evening winners, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesdays Championship
Semifinal winners, 5p.m.
MIAC TOURNAMENT
Wednesdays First Round
(3) Saint Johns 99, (6) Augsburg 86
(5) Bethel 67, (4) Concordia 62
Fridays Semifinals
(1) St. Thomas 63, (5) Bethel 46
(2) St. Olaf 91, (3) Saint Johns 80
Sundays Championship
St. Olaf at St. Thomas, 2p.m.

COLLEGE WOMEN

NSIC TOURNAMENT
At Sanford Health Pentagon, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sundays Quarterfinals
Concordia-St. Paul (14-15) vs. Winona State (28-2),
5:30 p.m.
Wayne State (17-11) vs. Northern State (22-6), noon
Minnesota Crookston (18-9) vs. Sioux Falls (24-5),
2:30 p.m.
Augustana (22-7) vs MSU Moorhead (21-5), 8p.m.
Mondays Semifinals
Sunday afternoon winners, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday evening winners, 8p.m.
Tuesdays Championship
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
MIAC TOURNAMENT
Tuesdays First Round
(3) Gustavus 65, (6) Saint Benedict 40
(4) Concordia 85, (5) Bethel 76
Thursdays Semifinals
(1) St. Thomas 69, (4) Concordia 48
(2) Saint Marys 78, (3) Gustavus 70
Todays Championship
Saint Marys at St. Thomas, 3p.m.

NASCAR COMMENTARY

HOCKEY
NHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Florida
60 35 18 7 77 167 139
Tampa Bay
61 35 22 4 74 169 149
Boston
62 34 22 6 74 194 171
Detroit
61 30 20 11 71 153 158
Ottawa
62 29 27 6 64 179 192
Montreal
61 29 27 5 63 167 168
Buffalo
61 24 30 7 55 144 167
Toronto
59 21 28 10 52 145 176
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington
60 45 11 4 94 200 139
N.Y. Rangers
61 35 20 6 76 175 156
N.Y. Islanders
59 33 19 7 73 170 146
Pittsburgh
59 30 21 8 68 155 156
New Jersey
63 30 26 7 67 139 153
Carolina
63 28 25 10 66 153 168
Philadelphia
60 27 22 11 65 148 163
Columbus
62 25 29 8 58 162 191
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Dallas
62 38 18 6 82 202 178
Chicago
63 38 20 5 81 177 151
St. Louis
63 35 19 9
79 157 152
Nashville
62 30 21 11 71 162 158
Colorado
63 32 27 4 68 169 176
Minnesota
62 27 25 10 64 161 158
Winnipeg
60 26 30 4 56 158 179
Pacific
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Los Angeles
60 36 20 4
76 161 139
Anaheim
60 33 19 8 74 149 142
San Jose
59 32 21 6
70 177 161
Vancouver 60 24 24 12 60 147 171
Arizona
61 27 28 6 60 166 188
Calgary
60 26 30 4 56 162 184
Edmonton
63 22 34 7 51 153 192
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime
loss.
Fridays games
Tampa Bay 4, New Jersey 0
Washington 3, Minnesota 2
Boston 4, Carolina 1
Anaheim 2, Edmonton 1, OT
Buffalo at San Jose, late
Todays games
Arizona at Philadelphia, Noon
Winnipeg at Pittsburgh, 2p.m.
Florida at Columbus, 2p.m.
St. Louis at Nashville, 2p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Dallas, 3p.m.
Toronto at Montreal, 6p.m.
Detroit vs. Colorado at Denver, CO, 7p.m.
Ottawa at Calgary, 9p.m.
Buffalo at Los Angeles, Noon

CAPITALS 3, WILD 2

Minnesota 1 1 02
Washington 0 1 23
First Period1, Minnesota, Koivu 13 (Suter,
Pominville), 19:18 (pp).
Second Period2, Washington, Orpik 3 (Nic.
Backstrom, Ovechkin), :49. 3, Minnesota, Niederreiter
12 (Suter, Pominville), 5:05.
Third Period4, Washington, Ovechkin 40
(Niskanen, Nic.Backstrom), 4:35 (pp). 5, Washington,
Orlov 7 (Burakovsky, Kuznetsov), 14:56.
Shots on GoalMinnesota 12-10-1032. Washington
3-13-1127.
GoaliesMinnesota, Kuemper. Washington, Holtby.
A: 18,605 (18,506). T2:21.

AUTO RACING
NASCAR SPRINT CUP

FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500 LINEUP

After Friday qualifying; race Sunday
At Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Ga.
Lap length: 1.54 miles
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 191.582 mph. (Failed
inspection, will start last)
2. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 190.13.
3. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 189.987.
4. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 189.961.
5. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 189.863.
6. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 189.779.
7. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 189.766.
8. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 189.681.
9. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 189.364.
10. (44) Brian Scott, Ford, 188.591.
11. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 187.196.
12. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 190.385.
13. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 190.26.
14. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 190.182.
15. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 190.15.
16. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 189.818.
17. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 189.144.
18. (14) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 189.138.
19. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 188.79.
20. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 188.719.
21. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 188.713.
22. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 188.636.
23. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 187.449.
24. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 189.39.
25. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 189.079.
26. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 189.041.
27. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 188.565.
28. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 188.028.
29. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 187.837.
30. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 187.392.
31. (34) Chris Buescher, Ford, 187.12.
32. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 185.903.
33. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 185.778.
34. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 185.617.
35. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 185.499.
36. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 184.039.
37. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 183.82.
38. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 180.769.
39. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.

GOLF
PGA

HONDA CLASSIC
At PGA National Resort and Spa, The Champion
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Purse: $6.1 million
Yardage: 7,140; Par 70
Fridays Second Round Scores
Rickie Fowler
66-66 132 -8
Jimmy Walker
67-66 133 -7
Sergio Garcia
65-69 134 -6
Adam Scott
70-65 135 -5
Hudson Swafford
71-65 136 -4
Blayne Barber
70-66 136 -4
John Senden
71-66 137 -3
Scott Brown
70-67 137 -3
William McGirt
66-72 138 -2
Michael Thompson
65-73 138 -2
Justin Thomas
69-69 138 -2
David Lingmerth
67-71 138 -2
Luke List
73-65 138 -2
Vijay Singh
69-70 139 -1
Patton Kizzire
75-64 139 -1
Andrew Loupe
71-68 139 -1
Jamie Donaldson
72-67 139 -1
Dawie van der Walt
71-68 139 -1
Brett Stegmaier
72-67 139 -1
Ken Duke
75-65 140 E
Greg Owen
69-71 140 E
Graeme McDowell 71-69 140 E
Davis Love III
71-69 140 E
Morgan Hoffmann 75-65 140 E
Russell Knox
70-70 140 E
Ian Poulter
71-69 140 E
Sung Kang
71-69 140 E
Darron Stiles
69-72 141 +1
Chesson Hadley
70-71 141 +1
Stewart Cink
73-68 141 +1
Alex Cejka
71-70 141 +1
Padraig Harrington
73-68 141 +1
Ryan Palmer
73-68 141 +1
Will MacKenzie
71-70 141 +1
Sean OHair
69-72 141 +1
Tyrone Van Aswegen 71-70 141 +1
Daniel Summerhays
71-70 141 +1
Camilo Villegas
72-69 141 +1
Jason Dufner
68-73 141 +1
Brooks Koepka
70-71 141 +1
Robert Streb
73-68 141 +1
Jeff Overton
72-69 141 +1
Mark Hubbard
71-70 141 +1
Francesco Molinari
73-68 141 +1
Si Woo Kim
68-74 142 +2
Brendan Steele
74-68 142 +2
Luke Donald
75-67 142 +2
Derek Fathauer
70-72 142 +2
Erik Compton
68-74 142 +2
Andy Sullivan
71-71 142 +2
Graham DeLaet
72-70 142 +2
Justin Hicks
67-75 142 +2
Steve Wheatcroft
71-71 142 +2
George McNeill
67-75 142 +2
Seung-Yul Noh
75-67 142 +2
Shane Lowry
67-75 142 +2
Emiliano Grillo
72-70 142 +2
Smylie Kaufman
70-72 142 +2
Stuart Appleby
70-72 142 +2
Gary Woodland
70-72 142 +2
Colt Knost
75-67 142 +2
John Huh
71-72 143 +3
Will Wilcox
70-73 143 +3
Spencer Levin
73-70 143 +3
Ben Martin
71-72 143 +3
Tom Hoge
70-73 143 +3
Bronson Burgoon
72-71 143 +3
Michael Kim
72-71 143 +3
Freddie Jacobson
72-71 143 +3
Billy Horschel
73-70 143 +3
Kevin Kisner
72-71 143 +3
Phil Mickelson
69-74 143 +3
Retief Goosen
71-72 143 +3
Ernie Els
71-72 143 +3
Paul Casey
69-74 143 +3
Kyle Stanley
73-70 143 +3
Sam Saunders
69-74 143 +3
Failed to make the cut
Charles Howell III
72-72 144
+4
Scott Pinckney
71-73 144 +4

Are shrinking car

counts a concern?
PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. All

eyes will be on the guys
up front during Sundays
NASCAR race at Atlanta
Motor Speedway.
It might be worth taking a look at whos running toward the back.
Or, more accurately,
who isnt there.
Only 39 cars showed
up for the second race of
the Sprint Cup season,
the lowest number of
entries in more than two
decades. It marks just the
third time since NASCAR
standardized the fields
in 1998 that there arent
enough cars to fill every
available slot.
While the reduced
numbers wont affect
front-runners such as
Daytona 500 winner
Denny Hamlin after
all, were talking about
low-budget drivers who
probably wouldve been
lapped early in the race
it does drive home the end
of an era.
Farewell to those
penny-pinching teams
that merely want to go
fast enough in qualifying
to hang around through
the weekend.
Another part of the
sports colorful history
has been cast aside.
Weve lost a lot,
said former driver Dave
Marcis, who spent much
of his long career simply
trying to qualify for races
in under-financed cars.
He remembers a time
when if you were the
little guy and didnt have
any money and were
not capable of winning
the race, the fans still
respected you when you
made that race.
This season, NASCAR
will be hard-pressed to
get the new maximum
40 cars on the track
each week. By the end of
the year, it wouldnt be
surprising to see as few
as 37.
Former team owner
Phil Parsons doesnt
necessarily consider that
a bad thing. He ran one
of those mom-and-pop
operations, shutting it
down during the 2015 season for financial reasons.
I hate the fact that we
dont have 50 or 60 cars
attempting to qualify, said
Parsons, the brother of late
Cup champion Benny Parsons. Thats just where
we are right now. We have
a new normal.
NASCAR was keenly
aware of dwindling car
counts when it agreed
to a charter system
essentially, recasting racing teams as sports franchises with an eye toward
enhancing their value,
creating more financial
stability and hopefully
luring some fresh financial blood into the sport.
That last point is especially important when you
look at the roster of powerful owners: Rick Hendrick is 66, while Richard
Childress, Jack Roush, Joe
Gibbs, Richard Petty and
Roger Penske are all in
their 70s.
If youre one of the 36
charter teams, the future
looks bright. Youre guaranteed a spot in every race
and some bang for your
buck.
If lacking a charter,
it simply doesnt pay to
compete on a regular
basis unless you have a
major sponsor, like the
Wood Brothers. The race
purses are still a bit of a
mystery under the new
arrangement, but it seems
the charter teams are
claiming a hefty piece of
that pie, too, with an eye
toward nudging out the
start-and-park teams that
showed up merely to collect a last-place paycheck.
Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was
taken aback when told
there were only 39 Cup
teams in Atlanta. But,
he quickly added, The
whole point of the charter
system was to create quality over quantity.
Forget about seeing

Kyle Busch fails

inspection
HAMPTON, Ga.
(AP) Kyle Buschs
car failed a post-race
inspection and he has
been disqualified as the
pole winner for Sundays
NASCAR Sprint Cup
race.
The ruling leaves
brother Kurt Busch as
the pole winner.
Kurt Busch ran
strong through all three
elimination rounds on
Friday and had the top
speed at 191.582 mph
before he was topped by
Kyles fast lap of 191.668
mph in his No. 18 Toyota.
NASCAR did not
immediately announce
why Kyle Buschs car
failed the inspection at
Atlanta Motor Speedway. He must start at
the back of the field.
Jamie McMurray, who
had the top speed in the
second round, will start
beside Kurt Busch on
the front row, followed
by Trevor Bayne and
Ryan Newman.
Denny Hamlin, fresh
off last weeks Daytona
500 win, was eliminated
in the second round.
another driver such as
Marcis, who famously
competed in wing-tip
shoes and managed to
operate his own team
over much of his 35-yearcareer, sometimes hopping out of the car to
work on it himself during
races. From NASCARs
perspective, the little guy
is a necessary casualty to
ensure the money keeps
flowing.
Clearly, though, its a
work in progress. Even
after scaling back the
43-car field, which had
been in place for 18 years,
NASCAR didnt even hit
the new target just two
weeks into the season.
This is the smallest number of teams at a Cup
race since 35 attempted
to qualify for the 1993
Goodys 500 at Martinsville Speedway, and more
contraction is likely.
Im not sure how its
all going to shake out,
Parsons said, but I dont
necessarily see three noncharter teams continuing
to run.
A decade ago, the Cup
garage was overrun with
teams. The 2006 Daytona
500 had 58 entries. Fiftytwo cars turned up that
year for the spring race in
Atlanta. Ten other races
had at least 50 entries.
Now, weve got the
first Cup race with fewer
than 40 drivers since
a 37-car field for the
last race held at North
Wilkesboro Speedway in
1996, according to STATS.
If you dont have
teams that are interested
in trying to get into the
sport, that should tell
you something, said the
74-year-old Marcis, who
retired from NASCAR in
2002 but still has a racing shop near Asheville,
North Carolina.
The season-opening
Daytona 500 drew only 44
cars the lowest number
of entries in the 58-year
history of NASCARs most
storied event. The number of full-time teams
is down to 38, and The
Motorsports Group a
beggarly operation simply
trying to survive from
week to week is the
only other team to enter
the first two races.
The No. 30 car failed
to qualify for the Daytona
500. Likewise for the No.
98 owned by Premium
Motorsports, which leased
its charter to a morecompetitive team and
therefore surrendered its
guaranteed spot.
At least those two
teams dont have to worry
about missing out this
week. Atlanta will have its
smallest field for a Cup
race since 1983.
The way things are
going in NASCAR, showing up is all it takes to get
in the race.
And that aint racin.

Saturday, February 27, 2016 B3

winonadailynews.com
PREP ROUNDUP

C-FC marches on in WIAA playoffs

Daily News staff

FOUNTAIN CITY The

undefeated season continues.
Kerrigan Lyga scored
18 points as the CochraneFountain City High School
girls basketball team, a top
seed in the WIAA Division 4
playoffs, held off a secondhalf charge from eighthseeded Onalaska Luther
61-56 in a regional semifinal
Friday night.
The victory advanced the
Pirates (23-0) to a regional
final against fourth-seeded
Brookwood at 7p.m. today at
C-FC. Brookwood advanced
with a 94-64 victory over
fifth-seeded Melrose-Mindoro, a team the Pirates beat
by scores of 44-41 and 82-75
this season.
Karen Scharlau added 15
points and was 7-for-8 at
the free-throw line for the
Pirates, who also beat Luther
in the regional semifinals last
year 57-56. Makenna Gabel
chipped in 11 points.
Kaitlyn Kennedy scored 18
points to lead Luther (9-15),
which had just 18 points at
halftime.
Brookwood (19-4) has
won five straight games,
including a 70-17 victory over
Boscobel in the first round of
the playoffs Tuesday. Briana
Nelson leads with 18.0 points
per game. She had 21 against
Mel-Min.

Division 3
G-E-T 47, Arcadia 33
GALESVILLE After a lethargic
first half from both teams, the secondseeded Red Hawks (19-4) were able to
open the game up going 5-for-8 from
three point range to put away the Raiders (8-16).
Freshman Lexi Wagner scored a
game-high 17 points, while senior Madison Doerr added 10 for the Red Hawks.
Annika Anderson and Abbey Zastrow
led the seventh-seeded Raiders with 17
points combined.
G-E-T hosts third-seeded Bloomer at
7p.m. today in the regional final.

PHOTOS BY JACOB HILSABECK, DAILY NEWS

Cochrane-Fountain Citys Melani Skroch (15) puts up a shot during a WIAA Division 4 playoff
game against Onalaska Luther on Friday in Fountain City.
BIG NINE
Winona 55, Austin 44
AUSTIN Danneka Voegeli had 13
points and the fifth-ranked Winhawks
picked up a solid win on the road to
close the regular season.
It was a great team win on the road
in a really tough environment, WSHS
coach Tim Gleason said. It was loud in
there. But we showed good composure
throughout the second half.
The Packers (14-11, 12-10) got to
within seven at 45-38 on a 3-pointer
by Shayley Vesel with 6 minutes to play,
but Winona (20-6, 16-6) finished strong
defensively.
They present some challenges.
Ruth is 6-3 in the middle. Shes really
long. It presents some challenges not
only for our defense, but our offense. I
was really impressed with the way we
handled that.
Jayne Emerson stuffed the stat
sheed with eight points, nine rebounds
and six assists. Hallee Hoeppner had 12
points and five assists.
The Winhawks, who won 20 games
in a season for the first time in school
history, will make their case for a No. 1
seed in this mornings seeding meeting.
Winona and second-ranked KassonMantorville (25-2), a team the Winhawks beat 61-59 at the Lewiston Auto
Holiday Tournament at Winona State,
are the candidates for the top seed.

From B1

Earlier in the day, Pomeroy, making his first trip to the state tournament, was pinned by Mahtomedis
Devin Fitzpatrick (40-1), the states
second-ranked wrestler, in 2 minutes,
44 seconds. Pomeroy ended his season 33-10.
In Class A, St. Charles placed two
wrestlers into todays semifinals.
Mark Buringa (40-0), the No. 2
wrestler at 113 pounds and a fifthplace finisher as an eighth-grader
last year at 106, pinned both of his
opponents Friday. He stuck Minneotas Avery Vanoverbeke in 1:35,
then pinned Jake Anders of Pierz in
3:09.
Hell face another undefeated
wrestler in Jace Greving (39-0) of Deer
River in the semifinals. Top-ranked
Ethan Cota (44-1) of Kenyon-Wanamingo awaits on the other side of the
bracket if he gets past Hunter Burnett
(39-0) of Pipestone.
Lane Heim advanced to the 145pound semifinals with a couple of
hard-fought decisions. He beat Jeremia Colon of Lake Crystal-Wellcome
Memorial 10-6 in the first round, then
squeaked past Cameron Whitcome of
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 7-6 in
the quarterfinals.
Heim will face Minneotas Bryce
Bruner (41-3) in todays semifinals.

From B1

The most impressive part

about it, is when somebody is
knocking down shots at that
rate, how is she still getting
looks? Ballard said. Whats
amazing about it, its without
running a lot of special things
for her. Her teammates are
aware of where shes at. And
theyre getting it to her at the
right time. People are keying
on her, but her teammates are
really good at finding her.
Nagle hits 3s off offensive
rebounds. She hits 3s in lateclock situations. Theres a few
times she hits 3s off actions
Ballard has inserted into WSUs
offensive plan, but most of
what she does beyond the arc

WSU
From B1

Gray does lead the team

with 62 turnovers and Eisner has gotten on him about
his defense two areas
the Warriors need to excel
at considering theyve had
problems putting the ball
through the hoop.
Part of Grays drop off

Long sets
another record
Daily News staff

TEKAUTZ

NAGLE

LOCAL COLLEGE ROUNDUP

MANKATO, Minn.
Kaitlyn Long has another
conference title and
another record to go along
with it.
Long, a sophomore on
the Winona State University womens track and
field team, won the weight
throw at the NSIC Indoor
T r a c k
a n d Fi e l d
Championships
o n Fr i d ay
at Minnesota State,
helping the
Warriors to
a secondLong
place posit i o n a f te r
the first day of competition.
Long won the event by
nearly 10 feet with a toss

of 72-2, a new NSIC

championship and facility
record. Senior Abbey Ristow was third (56-6) and
Ashley Thooft (55-0) was
fourth for WSU.
Long won the indoor
national championship in
the weight throw last season, and has the best throw
in all collegiate divisions in
the event this season at 73
feet.

BASEBALL
Winona State 5, Maryville 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. Mitch Stalsberg, Brett Herber and Mitch Voter
combined to toss a five-hit shutout
as the Warriors (2-2) won the first
game of the Maryville Classic on the
campus of Lindenwood University.
Stalsberg (1-1) went six innings
and allowed two hits. He struck
out and walked six. Herber allowed
one hit over two innings and Voter
pitched a scoreless ninth.
Joe Kubera was 4-for-5, while
Tyler Nehring was 3-for-5. Jesus
Cazares and Michael Hommes each
drove in two runs.

WASHINGTON 3, MINNESOTA 2

Wild crumble
after early lead
IAN QUILLEN
Associated Press

Cochrane-Fountain Citys Kerrigan Lyga (23) puts up a shot

during a WIAA Division 4 playoff game against Onalaska
Luther on Friday in Fountain City.

St. Charles senior Alan Spaeth (327) recovered from a 5-2 loss in the 132pound quarterfinals to beat Brandon
Ortman of Pierz in the consolation
bracket to keep his season going.

Murty falls in WIAA semifinal

MADISON, Wis. CochraneFountain City sophomore Tate Murty
didnt back down from the top-ranked
wrestler in his weight class, but Jeremy Schoenherr proved to be too
much to handle at the Kohl Center.
Murty advanced to the WIAA Division 3 126-pound semifinals by controlling Mineral Points Logan Schmitz
in the quarterfinals, but Schoenherr
handed Murty an 8-5 semifinal loss in
the night session of the WIAA individual state meet.
Stratfords Schoenherr (40-0)
took the upper hand early and never
relinquished the lead in becoming the
second person to beat Murty (35-2)
this season.
Murty trailed 4-2 after one period
and was within 4-3 before Schoenherr
scored a late takedown in the second
period.
Murty opened the third with an
escape, but Schoenherr stopped the
momentum quickly with a takedown
and held on the for the win.
Murtys teammate Max Dascher
(31-9) advanced to the quarterfinals,
but a pin at the hands of secondranked Josh Depies (39-3) of Random
Lake and 4-2 loss to Spring Valley/

NATE BEIER, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

Cochrane-Fountain Citys Max Dascher

tries to improve his position after
getting hand control against Random
Lakes Josh Depies in a Division 3
113-pound quarterfinal Friday in
Madison, Wis.
Elmwoods Dylan Bune (38-11) ended
his season.
Melrose-Mindoro/Gale-EttrickTreampealeau junior Dakota Daffinson was eliminated in the Division 2
195-pound bracket. He was pinned in
40 seconds by Wittenberg-Birnamwoods August Peplinski, the states
No. 2 wrestler, then lost a tough 6-3
decision to Wisconsin Lutherans
German Fitzgerald, ranked No. 7. Daffinson ends his season 33-14.

comes through being comfortable with the four other players

on the court.
Two or three games into
that stretch, shed hit one,
and Id just turn around and
laugh, senior guard Alexis
Foley said. I dont know how
she hits half of them. I dont
know how she gets open. I just
turn around and start laughing, like did that just happen
again?
Foleys favorite are the
four-point plays, something
that happens so often she has
developed a specific celebration for such an occasion. It
involves a lot of screaming and
double fists.
She probably leads the
nation in four-point plays,
Ballard said.
During those hours where
her teammates are in class,

Nagle works on those shots.

She tries to take awkward
attempts, pretending the clock
is winding down. She contorts
her body as though a defender
is flying out at her. She leans
one way, then the next. Then
does it again.
Every shot isnt going to
be perfect, Nagle said. Im
not going to be set all the time.
I try to make it game-like.
There is no official stat for
four-point plays. But Nagle
does rank eighth in the nation
in 3-pointers made per game
(3.33) and 15th in 3-point percentage (44.8 percent).
Shes like everyone else,
Ballard said. The more you
work on something, the better you get at it. Shes spent
an incredible amount of time
shooting the basketball working on her footwork.

from last year was because

of an offseason injury. He
broke his collarbone and
missed part of the offseason
workouts and nearly the first
month of practice. That set
him back, and even when he
was on the court, he didnt
have the same swagger he
did a year ago.
That gradually got better
as the year progressed.
I just feel more comfortable, Gray said after scoring

21 points against St. Cloud

State on Feb. 5. My body
feels better than it did at the
beginning of the year. I dont
get as nervous anymore. Sitting out for two months and
coming back, thatll make
you nervous no matter who
you are. It definitely feels
good to be back where I normally am.
Gray is averaging 7.8
points per game this season,
but is scoring 11.8 per game

UP NEXT
WHAT: NSIC Tournament quarterfinals
WHO: No. 8 Winona
State (28-2) vs. Concordia-St. Paul (14-15)
WHEN, WHERE: 5:30
p.m. Sunday at the
Sanford Pentagon,
Sioux Falls, S.D.
RADIO: KQALFM 89.5.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
C-SPs Anna Schmitt,
who had 16 points
and made four 3s
the last time the
teams played, was
named NSIC freshman of the year.

over the past nine games.

When he scored 13 points or
more, the Warriors are 6-0.
I thought he had a good
pace tonight off of ball
screens, Eisner said after
Wednesdays game, one
of the best Grays played
all year. He got into some
seams for himself to finish plays and he made some
good decisions with the basketball. Thats what weve
been missing consistently in

WASHINGTON After
finishing a four-game
homestand with a third
victory Friday night, the
Washington Capitals said
they havent been as good
as recent results suggest.
Dmitry Orlov scored
w i t h 5 : 0 4 re m a i n i n g
after Alex
Ove c h k i n
got a tying
goa l ea rlier in the
p e r i o d to
help Washington close
the homestand with a
Kuemper
3-2 comeback win
over the Minnesota Wild.
The NHL-leading Capitals won despite another
slow start, and they think
their 17-point lead over
their nearest conference
rival is providing a motivational challenge.
Its human nature,
when you know youre
in a good spot and you
dont need to push it, said
Ovechkin, who scored his
league-best 40th goal.
But as soon as they score
one goal or two goals, its
OK, we have to wake up
and play our game.
Brooks Orpik also
scored, and Braden Holtby
made 30 stops for Washington after he was pulled
early in the second period
of a loss Wednesday night
to Montreal.
If not for their late rally,
the Capitals wouldve suffered consecutive defeats in
regulation for the first time
this season. As it was, all
four games of this homestand were decided by one
goal, and the visitors scored

WOLNER

first all four times.

We havent been at our
best in a few weeks, and
were realizing that and fixing it, Holtby said. This
time of the year, its always
tough to stick to those little
things that make you successful.
Mikko Koivu and Nino
Niederreiter scored for
Minnesota. Koivu tied a
club record by playing in
his 743rd NHL game, all
with the Wild. Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves.
Orlov beat Kuemper on
a weak backhander from a
bad angle, sliding the puck
under the goalies pads
after a nifty between-thelegs deke to get past Niederreiter.
Thats a tough time
of the game for a goal like
that, Kuemper said. You
open up just a couple
inches and it finds a hole.
Niederreiter put the
Wild ahead 2-1 early in the
second, but Minnesota lost
its third straight to remain
four points back of Colorado for the Western Conferences final playoff spot.
The Wild also succumbed to a winning goal
in the third period for the
second time in as many
nights after falling to Philadelphia on Thursday.
We cant let it get
us down, Wild interim
coach John Torchetti said.
I loved our team game
today. I thought we played
a great road game but
didnt get the results that
we deserved, and thats all
we can do.
Ovechkin tied it 2-2
early in the third and just 29
seconds into Washingtons
first power play. He took
Matt Niskanens cross-ice
pass and drove his slap shot
past Kuempers pad.

Jack Herczeg, senior Corey

Piper and senior Tyler
Suman finished sixth in
1:34.42 a touch slower
than the qualifying standard of 1:32.07.
That was a heartbreaker, Mayer said. So
close.
G r a n t Wo l n e r, a n
eighth-grader, qualified in
the 200 individual medley,
finishing third with a qualifying standard of 2:05.95.
He barely missed qualifying in the 100 breaststroke
as well, finishing fourth in
1:04.63 .15 seconds out

of third place.
The Wolner brothers will
be joined at state by senior
Derrick Prenot, who scored
a 423.65 and finished third.
Hes heading back to state
for the third straight season.
There were highlights
beyond the state qualifiers, such as junior Yousef
Almatrok dropping time in
his two events, Riley Jorgenson finishing fifth in
the 500 freestyle and strong
contributions from eighthgraders Herczeg and Tanner
Lozenski, among others.
I cant wait to come
back here with these guys
next year, Mayer said. Im
already looking forward to
it.

the ball-screen offense is the

ability to break the defense
down to make some plays for
his teammates and himself.
He had that tonight.
That part of Eisners
system suits Gray just fine.
Nobody else on the team
can slice through defenders
the way he can, and nobody
on the team can contort his
body near the basket the way
he can. Hes also a strong
rebounder (3.8 per game)

despite being the shortest

guy on the floor most of the
time.
Coach tells us if were
going to get in there, either
finish or get fouled, Gray
said. If a coach is going to
give you the green light and
tell you to go to the hole and
finish, most players are going
to try to take advantage of
that and do what he says.
Now its a matter of doing
it consistently.

From B1